MLS' Rivalry Week lived up to its billing after some monumental results. The Portland Timbers capped off the weekend with an emphatic 4-1 home win over the depleted Seattle Sounders.
The victory came just four days after the Timbers were embarrassed 5-0 by the L.A. Galaxy, who lost 3-1 to the San Jose Earthquakes in the California Clasico.
Elsewhere, Toronto FC earned four more points with a victory over their Canadian rivals, the Montreal Impact, and a draw versus D.C. United.
The Vancouver Whitecaps recorded their third away win in a row after a narrow 2-1 triumph over the 10-man New England Revolution on Saturday. As a result, the Whitecaps sit alone at the top of the Western Conference.
Due to these results, the power rankings have been significantly altered and may contain a few surprises this week.Begin Slideshow

With a plethora of attacking stars shining on a weekly basis in Major League Soccer, choosing the top player in our weekly MLS Player Rankings is no easy task.
After Week 17, two worthy contenders had reasonable cases to claim the No. 1 position. The closest race for the top spot this season was eventually determined by production in front of the net over the last seven days.
On top of the battle for No. 1, a few rising stars of the league surged up the rankings based on their recent production, while a few guys finally made their worthy debuts on the list of the top 20 players in MLS for their body of work and great play this week.
Continue reading to see who earned spots in the latest MLS Player Rankings.Begin Slideshow

Week 17 in Major League Soccer was billed as Rivalry Week. In the five major clashes between rivals this week, the stars of the league rose to the occasion and delivered brilliant performances.
One of the top showings of the week, which began on Wednesday, came from the final match as Portland bested Seattle 4-1 in a Cascadia Cup showdown. Thanks to the play of Darlington Nagbe and Fanendo Adi, the Timbers were able to take three points from the Sounders.
Elsewhere in the league, a young center back handed the New York Red Bulls a magnificent 90-minute shift. and the San Jose Earthquakes received plenty of quality from one of their designated players.
Because a majority of the teams played in two matches in Week 17, we judged some players on their cumulative performance.
Continue reading to see who earned spots in our latest MLS Team of the Week. Begin Slideshow

Real Salt Lake scored what arguably might the best set-piece goal of the year against the Columbus Crew on Saturday night.
In the 35th minute, Salt Lake's Luke Mulholland passed the free-kick to his teammate in the box, who then flicked it to the another teammate, who then headed to the final teammate, who tapped it in.
Teamwork makes the dream work.
[Streamable]Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

It was in the high 80s at Sporting Park on Saturday night for Major League Soccer's Colorado Rapids-Sporting Kansas City match. What better way to cool off than getting sprayed by water?During the 47th minute, the match was paused when the sprinklers came on, and it didn't resume until they were turned off—and not until the players got nice and soaked.Each team's Twitter account had some fun with the situation:Sporting Kansas City went on to win, 2-0. [Twitter, Vine, h/t SB Nation]Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

A majority of Major League Soccer just recently wrapped up a midweek slate of games on Wednesday, but the schedule isn't slowing down with a six-match slate flooding DraftKings with Saturday MLS action.
One local derby graces the schedule as the Los Angeles Galaxy host the nearby San Jose Earthquakes, but there are also two inter-conference matchups to up the intrigue even further. For DraftKings prominence, take a close look at these value picks.
F: Octavio Rivero, Vancouver ($9,100) and Krisztian Nemeth, Kansas City ($6,500)
Octavio Rivero is worth every penny of the $9,100 salary that should constitute your most expensive pick of Saturday's slate. His Vancouver side faces a New England Revolution squad that has conceded 14 goals in their last eight games—with just one win in that span. Rivero and Vancouver didn't play in the midweek, keeping him fresh for Saturday.
In his last 90-minute outing, Krisztian Nemeth dominated Dallas with a goal and an assist for 26 DK points. Having surpassed 14 points in five of his last 10 appearances and facing a Colorado squad with one win in its last eight matches, Nemeth should feast again.
M: Michael Bradley, Toronto ($6,300) and Diego Fagundez, New England ($5,500)
Michael Bradley is taking his ...

Player-fan relations have never been better in Canada. A beer at a sporting event is hardly chump change to your everyday fan. That's why when a Toronto FC fan willingly gave up a huge chug of his pricey swill to Toronto goalkeeper Chris Konopka following their 3-1 win over rival Montreal Impact, the player-fan synergy was evident. With gestures like these, Major League Soccer is clearly on the right track to success. [Toronto FC, h/t Dirty Tackle]Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Six days after getting suspended three MLS matches for tearing up the referee's notebook during a U.S. Open Cup match against the Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders forward Clint Dempsey was suspended from U.S. Open Cup competition for either six matches or two years.
The U.S. Soccer Federation's U.S. Open Cup Adjudication and Discipline Panel has ordered that the exact nature of the U.S. Open Cup ban will be determined according to which of the two punishments is ultimately more severe, per Brian Straus of SI.com.
While most would likely agree that Dempsey's conduct on the pitch was improper, FOX Sports' Alexi Lalas questioned the basis of his second suspension:
The 32-year-old star's status in international play remains unaffected, as he was named to Team USA's Gold Cup roster and will be permitted to play for the Stars and Stripes this summer.
Following the controversial incident, United States head soccer coach Jurgen Klinsmann expressed his intention to discuss what transpired with his captain, according to USSoccer.com:
The situation with Clint Dempsey, obviously, is something that I saw basically on the internet. I was in Europe still after our games against Holland and Germany. It's something that nobody wants to see. It's a mistake, and mistakes happen. So, obviously ...

Daily fantasy soccer players are in for a rare treat with a midweek Major League Soccer matchday for Wednesday, filling the DraftKings slate with contests beginning at 6 p.m. ET with the kickoff of the Philadelphia Union and Seattle Sounders.
That's one of a whopping seven matches on tap for Wednesday, which makes it one of the best opportunities to cash in with 14 rosters to choose from. Take a look at the best picks for Week 18 below.
F: Chris Rolfe, D.C. United ($8,600) and Teal Bunbury, New England ($7,300)
While fellow D.C. United attacker Fabian Espindola has no goals since May 2, Chris Rolfe has netted four times in that span. His club should be on the front foot most of the contest against a Chicago Fire unit that has given up 15 goals in their last eight games, and he'll be intent on building off his brace from the weekend.
Begin stacking up your roster with New England talent by nabbing their best producer up top, Teal Bunbury. He's netted assists in each of his last two appearances, and has put up 20-point DK performances once in the months of April and May. You know what that could mean for Wednesday.
M: ...

A dramatic Week 16 in MLS produced more drama than usual.
The Vancouver Whitecaps edged the 10-man New York Red Bulls thanks to goalkeeper David Ousted, who saved two penalties. Real Salt Lake, D.C. United and the Colorado Rapids also picked up results thanks to some late heroics.
These decisive events have once again altered the MLS power rankings this week. Did Vancouver and D.C. do enough to pass the Seattle Sounders and Sporting Kansas City, who both lost?
Here are the latest MLS power rankings.Begin Slideshow